Man City v Wolves: The inside track on the Premier League champions

We spoke with Simon Bajkoswki, Man City writer for the Manchester Evening News, and Ric Turner of Bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk, to get a heads up on City.

Here's what they had to say.

It seems strange to look at the Premier League table and not see Man City at it's peak - what have you made of City's season so far?

SB: Up until around mid-November, City looked better than last season - which almost nobody could have predicted.

They looked on course for more records and the talk began about how uncompetitive they'd made the league. Then came a worrying spate of injuries.

Benjamin Mendy and Kevin De Bruyne have missed almost every game but pretty much every other first-team player missed a few games in the last six weeks of the year.

It upset the balance and the confidence and led to three defeats and the talk began about how the title race could be over. It has been a terrific start to 2019 in every sense. They beat Liverpool to give Jurgen Klopp's team a new challenge and key players are returning.

There are signs that they are moving through the gears but they are not back to their best yet.

RT: Overall, it's been a pretty decent season so far. We're still competing on four fronts, and in touching distance of another Wembley final.

We comfortably won our Champions League group, and have an excellent chance of progressing to the quarter finals. This has all been achieved without arguably our best player in De Bruyne, who is thankfully now back in action.

Aside from a blip over Christmas, where we lost successive games against Palace and Leicester, and Liverpool's incredible form, I'd have said it had been an excellent season so far.

Is there a genuine worry amongst fans that Pep Guardiola's side may not win the Premier League title this season?

SB: I wouldn't say worry. There is no doubt that this is an extremely good Liverpool team that would be deserving winners if they can hold off City's challenge.

City fans are not at the point where they expect the Premier League title every year, and given Guardiola has made no secret about pushing for all four trophies there is no telling yet which competitions the off-games will come in.

The league title would be the most satisfying to win - especially after the mini-slump - but they are still in a very good place.

RT: If Liverpool had won at The Etihad last week, I think the title race would've been as good as over. Ten points would have been a huge gap to overhaul.

As it is, the victory has put us back within four points so there is all still to play for.

I think Liverpool are deservedly favourites, with the lead they have and what looks like an easier run-in, on paper at least, but we have the experience of winning titles which very few of their players have. This shouldn't be underestimated as the season wears on.

After the procession last season, it's far more exciting to be involved in a genuine title race.

Wolves obviously managed a draw against Man City last time around this season - what did you make of that game, and do you think Pep will have it in his thinking heading into Monday?

SB: I thought Wolves were excellent.

They mastered the balance between respecting Guardiola's side enough to defend ferociously and cut out their opportunities while not giving them too much respect, attacking at just the right moments to switch the pressure onto the City defence.

Every team that has had success against City since last season has known exactly what they are good at and what their identity is and promoted teams are often tougher to play against at the beginning of the season because they have been used to winning every week for at least a year.

Obviously, the Boly goal should not have been given and David Silva arguably should have had a penalty, but nobody who was there for the game could argue Wolves didn't deserve a point on the balance of play.

Guardiola will of course be thinking about it. It was the cup struggles last year against Wolves, Bristol City and Wigan that led to him playing such strong teams against Rotherham and Bristol City recently, and the manager loves the challenge of working out how to beat a team that has previously stopped him.

RT: I was extremely impressed with Wolves at Molineux. They took the game to us and deserved a point, albeit gained a bit fortuitously with Boly's handball.

I'm certain that Guardiola is expecting a tough challenge on Monday. Your record against the top six has generally been very good this season.

January is obviously upon us now, have City done any deals yet? Where do you see them strengthening, if at all?

SB: Other than fringe player Brahim Diaz heading to Real Madrid, it is expected to be a very quiet window for City.

It's funny because two weeks ago there was a growing sense that they needed a left-back, a defensive mdifielder and another striker but since they beat Liverpool not so much!

They may well need to look at left-back again and cover/a successor for Fernandinho is definitely required - missing out on Jorginho in summer and not going in for anyone else will be seen as a pivotal decision should they not win the league - but they are more likely to invest in summer.

Understandably, Guardiola has a lot of faith in the squad that earned 100 points last season and a small squad helps to avoid unhappiness from anyone not getting game time.

RT: The fans would like to see us get cover for Fernandinho. He's absolutely crucial to the way we play, but at 33 can't be expected to play every game.

Left-back is also a cause for concern, with Mendy's injury problems and Delph and Zinchenko not always looking comfortable playing out of position.

However, Guardiola has repeatedly said that we won't sign anyone in January, so we're not expecting any transfers this month.

What predicted XI could we expect to see from City - they've seemed very hard to predict this season?

SB: Guardiola turned to his proven leaders against Southampton and Liverpool and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Vincent Kompany keep his place after the Laporte left-back experiement worked out.

The biggest issue - one that the manager would love to have every week but hasn't this season - is which two to play out of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva (and there's also Ilkay Gundogan to consider!). All are finally fit.

For the first time in a while, City have options but I would not be surprised to see the same XI that beat Liverpool: Ederson, Danilo, Stones, Kompany, Laporte, Fernandinho, Silva, Bernardo, Sterling, Sane, Aguero.

RT: I think we'll line up as follows: Ederson, Danilo, Stones, Otamendi, Delph, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, B Silva, Sane, Sterling, Aguero

Are there any injury worries at the Etihad right now which could affect the game?

SB: De Bruyne started against both Rotherham and Burton and headed straight down the tunnel when he was taken off on Wednesday night.

He was forced to sit out a few games after returning in December and I think they may want him to take it easy as he builds his fitness, especially when they have other options.

Mendy's injury has forced Guardiola to change the way City set up, but that has been the case for two seasons now.

RT: Aside from long term injuries to Benjamin Mendy and Claudio Bravo, we should have a fully fit squad to choose from.

What have you made of Wolves from afar this season? You've obviously seen them in action once before - do you think they can challenge for the upper echelons of mid-table?

SB: I've been very impressed, from what I have seen they look like one of the best teams to come up from the Championship for a long time.

I like any team bold enough to stick to their natural game and their success against the top sides has been pretty remarkable.

Goals are a concern. A goalscorer is the most difficult treasure to find in this league and can make the difference between a top-ten finish and a relegation battle. But as Fulham have shown, attacking talent counts for little if you can't defend.

Every kind of success in the division is built on a solid defence and Nuno has got the balance right.

I think they can finish anywhere between 7th and 14th but I see no reason why they can't be on the right side of that spectrum if they can keep their belief for the rest of the season.

RT: I've got a lot of time for Wolves. It's great to see a side get promoted and not just settle for survival - I think their ambition should be applauded.

Breaking into the top six will be extremely difficult, because of the financial disparities between the teams, but there's no reason at all why Wolves couldn't finish seventh or eighth this season.

Your match prediction?

SB: I'd be more confident of backing a City win if Liverpool slip up at Brighton.

We saw in City-Liverpool that Guardiola's side had that hint of desperation that drove them on to victory, but we also saw in Wolves-Liverpool that Wolves are very good!

I think City will nick it because of the situation at the top, although I'm not expecting it to be easy. 2-1 or 3-1.

RT: 3-1 to City.